


Thick Woolen Socks

by QuothTheDragon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus & Ariana Feels, Because you have to wonder why Dumbledore said he saw socks, Canonical Character Death, Feels, Gen, M/M, Mirror of Erised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2014-12-06
Packaged: 2018-02-28 08:18:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2725406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuothTheDragon/pseuds/QuothTheDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Albus Dumbledore always did see thick woolen socks in the Mirror of Erised.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thick Woolen Socks

                Aberforth had come home from school for Christmas and already they had argued! The foolish boy wanted to leave Hogwarts just to take care of Ariana. Couldn't he see that Albus was doing a fine job? All her needs were met and she was as happy as she was able to be. He knew his younger brother felt pressured to be more like Albus himself while he was at school, but that was understandable. He was, after all, a genius in many areas of magic. His brother should be able to handle the pressure, he was a Dumbledore after all.

Now the foolish boy was out visiting his few local friends. It was just he and Ariana on Christmas Eve. He was excited for later in the evening, after all Gellert would be coming over shortly to celebrate with his family and discuss their move in the new year. It would be an easier discussion to have with Aberforth gone anyhow. He didn't approve of their planning. He was a foolish younger brother, Albus thought, just as Gellert had always said.

                In his excitement, the young head of the Dumbledore family was flitting from place to place, eager to make sure the room was perfect for when his lover arrived. Gellert was so attractive and ambitious. Their relationship was a meeting of genius and Albus was eager to see how their plans would play out.  After all, it would only be a safer place for people like Ariana if wizards were to guide muggles along the right path. Their magic gave them the knowledge and power to change things, so why shouldn't they? Why should young witches and wizards have to suffer because of foolish muggle superstition? Righteous anger curled in his gut as he glanced at his too-quiet sister.

               She had been so happy as a child, so full of life. Now, she sat in front of the fire in a rocker, hands clumsily working on something. Albus rolled his eyes. It was seldom that she could stay occupied after their mother's death. That thought cooled his anger like snow at midsummer. Conflict welled within him. He _knew_ it wasn't her fault, but it was so hard to look at her and not see their mother. The same mother who had fallen victim to Ariana's uncontrollable magic. _The muggles_ , he reminded himself. The muggles were the root of the problem. If they had only had the proper guides, the proper shepherds, then this would have never happened! Ariana would have never suffered, and his mother would still be alive, and his _father_ -

               The chime interrupted Albus's thoughts from continuing down their dark path. He stroked his ginger stubble in excitement. He truly hoped it was Gellert and not Aberforth returning early to sulk. Rushing to the door, he took a moment to straighten his robes and brush his hair behind his ears. Opening the door, he was met with Gellert's handsome visage. A smile tugged at his lips involuntarily. "Gellert!" he called out, tone naught but friendly. It wouldn't do for the neighbors to talk, after all.

               "Albus," he greeted. They clasped their forearms together, seeming to the world around them completely friendly. Only Albus could see the extra warmth in the other man's gray eyes and feel the stroking of his thumb on his forearm. Love and lust curled together in Albus's stomach. _Later_ , he reminded himself. Much later, if Aberforth came home and threw a fit. His younger brother really seemed to dislike Gellert for no reason. Probably jealous that his genius older brother was making something of their lives after all the tragedy they had dealt with.

               "Please, come in!" He stepped aside for Gellert to step in ahead of him. As soon as Albus shut the door behind them, Gellert had him pushed up against the door, kissing him passionately. The young Dumbledore sank into the kiss for a moment before remembering that Ariana was in the room.

               "Not that I don't appreciate the greeting," he started, pulling back from his lover, "But Ariana felt well enough to come down today and I do not wish to disturb her." Gellert's eyes rolled at this. It was a familiar action when Ariana was involved.

               "You mustn't coddle her so, Albus. How do you think she is going to cope with the move? You keep her trapped in this house and don't expose her to anyone. Perhaps it would be best for Aberforth to remain home with her from now on." His tone was dismissive and guilt crept into the back of Albus' mind. He couldn't deny that the same thoughts and crossed his mind on several occasions. Nonetheless, he was the head of the family and Ariana was his responsibility. He told his lover as much.

               "I know that you feel great responsibility toward the girl, but haven't you considered that she might be better off with Aberforth? Someone that can dedicate time to her? We shall be very busy moving forward with plans to make this world a better place for her." Gellert's tone soothed his worry and guilt. Something about his lover always made him feel better about seemingly impossible situations.

               "You may have a point," Albus conceded wearily. His lover gathered him into a hug and stroked his back comfortingly.

               "I know what she means to you, Albus. I don't know how you do it, honestly. I don't think I could face the person that tore my family apart day after day."

               A deep frown overtook the young Dumbledore's face. Ariana had done no such thing. "Now, Gellert, you know it wasn't like that. It was those muggles. They ruined her," he hissed passionately. His blue eyes darted over to the form of his younger sister, still engrossed with whatever she was working on.

               Gellert's eyes flashed and Albus knew his temper was right below the surface. Choosing to diffuse the situation, he diverted his lover's attention. "Why don't we go discuss where we'll be moving to? Have you thought any more about Berlin?"

The anger disappeared from Gellert's eyes. "Actually, we have more important things to speak of. Albus, I may have a lead on one of the _Hallows_!"

               Excitement roared to life in Albus's chest. One of the Hallows! Oh, what they could do with that! The power they would be able to wield with such a tool would be unimaginable. And if they got all three... .

               "Tell me," Albus demanded with a grin. A quick glance told him that Ariana remained oblivious. Good. There were important things to speak of on this night.

               "There are rumors of a certain wand, on the continent," Gellert started as they sat down. "One of my contacts at Durmstrang let me know. They say that the man who wields it is unbeatable."

               "The Elder Wand," Albus breathed out reverently.

               Gellert grinned victoriously, gray eyes glinting in the firelight. "Exactly! Imagine the power we could wield with the Elder Wand. It would accelerate our plans by months! Years, even!"

               "Please tell me you two are not still going on about that world domination shit still," a low voice stated roughly from near the door. Albus looked up and saw his brother glaring at them balefully, eyes mistrusting. Albus sighed and started diffusing.

               "Aberforth, I didn't hear you come in."

               "Yes, I wonder why," he replied sarcastically.

               "Now, Aberforth," Albus started. His brother really should give him more respect as head of the family. They only had each other after all. And Gellert.

               "Foolish boy," Grindelwald mocked. "Muggles need someone to guide them. Look at them, guided by their superstitions and foolish religions. They kill each other and us more than is necessary. Do you want what happened to your sister to continue? " Albus wished his lover would be less condescending.

               "Sounds an awful lot like world domination to me," Aberforth mocked right back. "Though I would prefer if you do not discuss such things in front of Ariana." Albus admired how fiercely Aberforth could care for their sister. How was he not wracked with the pain of the past whenever he looked at her?

               "Oh please, it's not as if she understands what we're speaking of. And who knows? Maybe she would approve," he sneered. Aberforth snarled in anger. Albus felt panic rising within him. This was escalating far too quickly. Far too quickly. A tug at the sleeve of his robe distracted him.

               Glancing down, there was Ariana looking up at him with slightly vacant blue eyes. She held something in her other hand and offered it to him. He did his best not to shudder and tried to brush her away. He had to stop his lover and brother from fighting before the situation got even worse. Ariana tugged insistently at him once more, offering him the small cloth bundle. It was clumsily tied with a green ribbon. Albus shrugged it off easily. "Not now, Ariana," he said, his tone coming out more harshly than he intended.

               Both Gellert and Aberforth had their wands out and seemed to be waiting for the moment to strike. Albus removed his own wand from its holster, ready to intervene.

               "Gellert! Aberforth! It's Christmas Eve! Stop this nonsense!" He tried his best.

               His brother turned on him, snarling and pointing his wand threateningly. "Don't get me started with you! I did not believe you were capable of such selfishness, _brother_."

               "It is not selfishness to care about the future of this family, Aberforth," he replied firmly, sure of his righteousness. Aberforth was just being unreasonable.

               "Mother and father would have never wanted an up and coming _Dark Lord_ to be the head of this family!" Aberforth exclaimed passionately. Albus's heart jumped into his throat. Pain welled up within his very soul. How could his own flesh and blood believe him capable of such darkness?

                Gellert just sneered at the younger Dumbledore brother. "Fool. Do you really think changes can be made through your puny little Ministry? They're the same ones who imprisoned you father just for avenging your sister! Do you believe your father to be a dark wizard as well?" The jab hit home as Aberforth rapidly paled and then flushed a brilliant red.

                "You!" he snarled, seemingly unable to express more than that in words. With that the first spell was fired. A brilliant red streaked across the room towards Gellert and Albus. Gellert deflected it cooly.

                "Is that all they teach at Hogwarts, Albus? Pathetic." Gellert began his own barrage of spells as Albus looked on in horror. He had to do something!

                Bright streaks of spellfire was all he could perceive as he began to try to break up the fighting and separate the enraged duelists. The spells grew nastier and nastier until he began to recognize dark spells leaving that wand of his lover. This couldn't be happening. They had agreed that dark magic was not the way to achieve their goals! What was Gellert doing?

                "No! Stop!" he shouted desperately. He was ignored. Resolve hardened within him. He may not have started the duel, but he would end it. With that, Albus entered the fray, shouting spell after spell. In what felt like both forever and only a moment, he stood in front of his brother and his lover, their wands in his hand.

                "What made the two of you engage in such foolishness?" he roared. Before he could continue his tirade, he caught the horrified look on Aberforth's face. Turning around, he saw the prone form of Ariana laying on the floor. His heart skipped a beat.

                Dropping the wands to the floor, Albus rushed to his sister's side. He turned her over and couldn't see signs of life. "Ariana?" he croaked brokenly. When had this all gone so wrong?

                He held his hand over her mouth, but no breath left her body. She was gone. What had he done?

                A sudden noise startled him and he was met with his lover running out the door, wand in hand. Where was Gellert going? Albus need his help! His support! Aberforth stared at him in horror.

                "She's gone," he stated unnecessarily. This rekindled his little brother's rage.

                "If you had only paid her more attention! If you hadn't fallen in with that Grindelwald fellow, none of this would have happened!" Aberforth accused. Albus did not deny any of it. His mind swirled with confusion. How had a moment making plans with his lover turned into a dead sister, a furious brother, and a missing lover? Aberforth grabbed his wand off the floor and stormed out.

                His eyes strayed down to Ariana's hand, to the small bundle she had pushed at him earlier. If only he had paid her a brief moment of attention, he thought mournfully. Sitting back on the floor, he pulled the ribbon and unraveled the parcel. Tears finally welled in his eyes. A small note within simply read "To Albus. Merry Christmas! Love, Ariana".

                Fresh tears ran down his cheeks. She so rarely wrote or communicated in anyway, his Ariana. Turning his attention back to the cloth, he realized she had knitted him a pair of woolen socks.

                And the abyss opened up within him, and Albus Dumbledore lost himself to grief.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

_"Professor Dumbledore. Can I ask you something?"_

 

_"Obviously, you have just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."_

 

_"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"_

 

_"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is my first fanfiction in about 2-3 years, so I hope you enjoyed. I welcome any feedback on plot. pacing, grammar, etc. It's been a while and I'm a bit rusty. I do hope you enjoyed!
> 
> A bit about what inspired this:
> 
> I've always imagined Dumbledore as a guilt-ridden man. He had a lot happen in his life and did not always make the wisest of choices. Something as simple as the Mirror of Erised would likely provide torment to a man who is so aware of his flaws and mistakes. Plus, I wasn't willing to accept a simple reason being behind the socks (e.g.- need them for portkeys). 
> 
> It was also odd that as I wrote the interactions between Albus and Gellert, it came out with hints of a controlling, unhealthy relationship. This made me so much more sympathetic to my head canon Dumbledore. He's such a complex character that I would love to delve further into his backstory. 
> 
> Enough of my wine-induced rambling, I'll stop now :)
> 
> The last bit in italics is direct dialogue from Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, not mine.


End file.
